View Single Post
Old 02-26-2008, 02:58 PM   #45
John Connolly
Dojo: NYC Icho Ryu
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 80
United_States
Offline
Re: why focus on internal power

Without the Black Panthers and the Black Muslim movement, Dr. King's peaceful alternative would have been laughed at. The same holds true for Ghandi's peaceful protests as a counterpart to violent insurgency in India.

Dr. King and Ghandi may have been the ultimate examples of non-violence, but they were the other side of the coin, totally co-dependent on the threat of violence by their counterparts for their success.

--------------------------------

I seek internal power, such as that demonstrated by the various greats in CIMA and Daito Ryu, etc (to clarify what I mean by internal power), just as I seek a refinement and strengthening of abilities I've already learned. I want to be strong enough in any encounter so that I have the ability to show mercy AND survive. Without that strength/ability I could be limited to seriously harming my attacker in order to protect myself. Might not be Aikido, straight from O Sensei's concept, but it holds true to my personal ideals.

Plus, learning is fun.